A Way Back Into Love
by mamaXunicorn
Summary: "We need to help Mr. Schuester." "Help him with what?" "Help him and Miss Pillsbury get back together."
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N: So I got this as a suggestion to put as a chapter in my story 'What If' but I decided to have this all on its own. So I hope you enjoy it!

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A loud bell pierced the air and within seconds the quiet campus of McKinley High School was filled with the running footsteps and loud chatter of a few hundred Ohio students.

The different cliques hung out in their usual places, some students piled onto the buses, too eager to get home after their long day at school. Some of the seniors, who actually could afford cars, headed over to the small student parking lot and relaxed there, showing off to the lower classmen.

Teachers, also fed up with having to deal with moody teenagers for six hours, rushed out of the doors and towards their cars, weaving their way through crowds of students.

Standing near the main entrance, looking over the crowds of students and faculty, stood a frowning Rachel Berry.

When the last bell rang she was one of the first ones to head towards the entrance to get home. There was no glee rehearsal that day and Rachel was eager to get home to practice her singing on her own.

However, instead of getting onto the bus like she planned, she wound up standing near the entrance for two minutes, not moving.

Just as she was about to head towards her bus, a familiar face pushed past her, not really touching her but his pace was so fast, her hair ruffled in the breeze.

She expected it to be an eager student, perhaps one of the football players who didn't particularly like her. The last person she expected it to be was Mr. Schuester.

Once he passed her, her brow furrowed and she studied his face as he continued to walk away from her. His face was stern, his jaw clenched tightly, he had sunglasses on so she couldn't see his eyes and his body was tense. He also didn't say a word to her as he passed, he didn't even give her a smile. Usually, Mr. Schuester would always smile at her when they crossed paths in the hallway. More often than not, she'd change her path to walk with him and talk to him about glee.

In fact, she had noticed, since school started about three weeks ago, that Mr. Schuester was not himself. He rarely had a smile on his face and he worked his way through glee and spanish class with little to no enthusiasm. He was always known as the over-enthusiastic teacher but he walked around school like a zombie.

Rachel wasn't stupid, she knew exactly what had put her teacher into a depression. She had seen it first hand at the end of the prior year just after they had lost Regionals. From down the hallway she had heard Miss Pillsbury's frantic voice and as she stepped closer to listen, she smiled when she heard her guidance counselor defending glee club. They, as well as Mr. Schuester, may have given up that glee club would ever exist again but she was glad to know that someone had not given up on them. What happened next shocked her more than it should have.

There was talk about 'us' and Mr. Schuester grabbed Miss Pillsbury's arm, confessed his love, told her that 'they' were not over and then kissed her. Rachel knew she shouldn't have interrupted, they were clearly in a very intense moment but she knew that if she didn't get Mr. Schuester to come to the auditorium then that they'd never be able to perform for him and tell him how much he actually meant to them. Which, in hindsight, was a bit ironic because if he truly did mean that much to them, Rachel would have let him have his moment with Miss Pillsbury where he really wanted to be.

Perhaps, if she had let him stay, Mr. Schuester wouldn't be a zombie.

Rachel noticed that he had reached his car but instead of getting in and going home, he had paused outside, not even bothering to open the door, staring across the parking lot.

Rachel followed his line of sight and even her stomach sunk at the sight. Miss Pillsbury was walking towards a strange but handsome man leaning against a very expensive looking car.

Rachel glanced back at Mr. Schuester and saw that he was now gripping the roof of his car very tightly. She bit her lip and glanced back at Miss Pillsbury and the strange man. The man opened his arms and Miss Pillsbury entered them, only a bit hesitantly.

Even from the distance she was at, Rachel could see the strange man place a kiss to her head. Once again, Rachel turned back to Mr. Schuester just as he was getting into the car and from where she was she could faintly hear the hard slamming of the door.

Her frown deepened and watched as he pulled out of his parking spot and as he drove past, she swore she could see a tear rolling down his cheek.

As his beat up, old blue car drove past Miss Pillsbury and her supposed boyfriend, Miss Pillsbury turned her head and watched his car drive out of the parking lot, staring at where his car left for a long while before finally turning back to the strange man.

Rachel narrowed her eyes slightly, biting her lip in thought. A slow, knowing grin spread across her face and she turned on her heel, strutting back into the school.

The hallways were less crowded so Rachel easily maneuvered through the halls and made her way towards the boy's locker room. She leaned against the wall opposite the locker room door and tapped her foot impatiently.

She heard the football team do a chant in the locker room and soon they all piled out of the room, Karofsky, Azimio and most of the other football players rolled their eyes once they saw her standing there. Mike and Matt looked a little surprised to see her there but then smiled and gave a small wave.

Puck and Finn came out together laughing. The two had rekindled their friendship over the summer and were quickly on the road to becoming best friends again.

The two boys stopped when they saw her and Rachel lifted herself off the wall. Instead of slushie-ing her or pushing her aside like he normally would, Puck only gave her a small but friendly smile and clapped Finn on the back before taking off after his team mates.

Finn's face twisted up in confusion but he wore that adorable smile on his face. "Hey...what are you doing here?

"We need to talk Finn." Rachel stated seriously, walking towards her boyfriend.

Finn's face dropped. "What'd I do?"

Rachel's face softened for a moment as she took Finn's large hand into hers. "Nothing." She reassured him with a small smile. "It's not about us."

Finn's face relaxed and he gave Rachel's hand a squeeze. "Okay so...what's up?"

Rachel's face became stern again. "We need to do something about Mr. Schuester."

Finn raised an eyebrow. "What'd ya mean?"

Rachel gave him an exasperated look. "Oh come on Finn! You can't tell me you haven't noticed that Mr. Schuester hasn't been himself this year."

"Rach...its only been three weeks into the school year..."

"Yes but you know Mr. Schue! He was lifeless at our first glee rehearsal that's not like him!"

Finn shrugged. "Well, yeah, I guess but do you think we should get into his personal business?"

"He's miserable, Finn! We can't let him just suffer without doing anything about it! Besides, with him being so uncharacteristically unemotional, we don't stand a chance at sectionals."

Finn sighed heavily. "Look, I can't talk about this right now I got football and stuff."

"Then we'll talk as we walk." She pulled his hand and led him down the hallway.

"Rachel, I don't really think we should get involved. He's probably upset about his wife." Finn said, catching up to stand beside Rachel.

Rachel turned to him with an exasperated look. "It's not his wife, Finn! He's not even married anymore."

"Exactly."

"It's not about her, Finn! It's about Miss P!" Rachel exclaimed.

Finn furrowed his brow. "What does Miss P have to do with it?" Finn asked cluelessly.

"You can't tell me you haven't noticed it! All of last year they were sending lovey-dovey looks to each other, they always went everywhere together, they were stuck like glue to each other. Then, right around that time when everyone started calling Mr. Schue a man-whore, he started to go down hill and we never saw them together anymore. I talk to Miss P on a regular basis and whenever I mention Mr. Schue, she wouldn't smile dreamily like she usually would, she'd become incredibly uncomfortable. Something happened between them and now Miss P has a new boyfriend and Mr. Schue is heart broken." Rachel explained enthusiastically, almost all on one breath.

Finn blinked in confusion trying to keep up with her and then shook his head the clear his foggy brain. "Okay but what are we supposed to do?" He asked as they stepped out of the school and headed towards the football field.

"Get them back together." Rachel replied simply.

"What if they don't want to be back together?" Finn replied. "We shouldn't mess in their lives like that."

"They want to be together Finn!" Rachel cried, turning to stop in front of him. "Today I saw Miss P looking at him as he drove out of the parking lot."

"So?"

"So, she looked at him the way she always looked at him!" She reached up and grabbed a hold of his football Jersey, making his eyes widen in surprise. "Finn, they want to be together and we have to do something!"

"Okay, okay!" Finn held up his hands, not wanting to get involved in one of Rachel's drama queen fits. "What do we do?"

Rachel grinned and let go of his jersey. "I have a plan. What time does football practice end?"

"Um...5:30 why?"

"Gather Puck, Matt and Mike and tell them to meet at my house at 6 o'clock." Rachel told him. "I'll try and get the others."

"Um, okay." Finn muttered, still a little confused.

Rachel squealed, jumping up and down and then throwing her arms around Finn's neck. "Thank you Finn!" She kissed him full on the lips and then skipped off towards the school, leaving Finn dumbstruck.

Rachel practically flew through the school, excited that her plan was in motion and hopefully by the end, they'd have a happy Mr. Schuester again.

Down one of the hallways she saw Mercedes, Quinn and Kurt all walking, linked arms with each other. After regionals and over the summer, the three of them became fast friends and spent almost every day hanging out with each other.

Rachel grinned at seeing her fellow glee mates and skipped towards them. "Hey guys!"

All three of them gave Rachel a confused look. "Um hi." Quinn greeted a little skeptically.

"What happy bug bit you?" Kurt asked, eyeing the overly-excited Rachel.

Rachel ignored his question and went straight to her own. "Can you all meet at my house at 6 o'clock?"

"Why?" Quinn asked, dragging out the word suspiciously.

"We need to help Mr. Schuester."

"Help him with what?" Kurt asked.

"Help him and Miss Pillsbury get back together."

Realization instantly crossed each of their faces. "I'm glad I am not the only one who realized that they had something going on between them." Mercedes commented.

"_Have_ something going on between them." Rachel corrected.

"They've been avoiding each other since last year." Quinn added. "Plus I've seen Miss P with someone else. Someone that kinda looks like my dentist, actually."

"That doesn't mean anything. I never told you guys this but I saw Mr. Schue tell Miss P that he loves her and then he kissed her and she kissed him back." Rachel told them.

The shock was evident on all of their faces. "Are you serious?" Quinn asked.

"When did this declaration of love happen exactly?" Kurt asked.

"The last week of school, actually right before we sang for him." Rachel explained.

"I thought he looked a little distracted." Mercedes mused.

"He still is distracted." Rachel went on. "We need to help him before he completely loses it."

"Right." Mercedes agreed and Kurt and Quinn nodded in agreement. "We'll be there."

"Great." Rachel grinned. "Could you possibly get a hold of Tina, Artie, Santana and Brittany? Finn is telling Puck, Matt and Mike."

Mercedes quickly pulled out her cell phone and immediately started to text. "On it."

"Wonderful." Rachel said with a nod. "See you at six."

* * *

At around ten minutes after six, all twelve glee kids were gathered in the Berry living room. Rachel's dads weren't too keen on having twelve teenagers in their house with little notice but after Rachel explained it was an emergency and batted her puppy dog eyes, her fathers gave in and ordered some pizzas.

"So what exactly are we all doing here?" Puck asked, his arm slung around Quinn while the pair sat on one of the couches in the Berry living room.

"Finn didn't explain?" Rachel shot a look towards her boyfriend.

"He said something about Mr. Schue but Finn is not very good at explaining things." Puck remarked and Finn shot his best friend a dirty look. Puck returned a smirk and shrugged.

Rachel sighed heavily and took her place in front of the room, addressing her glee mates in her usual fashion. "As all of you should know Mr. Schuester has been absolutely miserable the past three weeks and it has to do with a certain guidance counselor."

"Miss Pillsbury?" Mike piped up.

"Miss Pillsbury." Rachel nodded.

"Duh," Santana remarked, "They're totally crazy about each other."

"Right." Rachel said. "They just need to be reminded of that especially Miss P."

"So how do we do that?" Tina asked.

Rachel grinned. "I have a plan."

"And that plan would be...?" Puck encouraged her to go on.

"Well we know how much Mr. Schuester loves music. He practically started bawling when we sang 'To Sir, With Love.' He agrees with me when I say that music is the best expression of emotions. We also know that Miss P loves music and loves to watch us perform because she took us to Sectionals and have sat in a few rehearsals." Rachel explained

"What are you getting at?" Santana asked.

"We're going to sing for them. We're going to get them both in the auditorium and sing for them." Rachel said with a proud grin.

A murmur of words of agreement spread among the eleven kids. "What are we going to sing?" Artie asked.

"We're going to sing _Way Back Into Love_ from 'Music & Lyrics'." Rachel told them.

A few of the girls, plus Kurt gasped and whispered to each other about how perfect the song would be. The boys, mainly the football players sat around confused, giving each other questioning looks.

"I'll play it for you boys later." Rachel glanced at the boys.

"How are we going to get Mr. Schue and Miss P both into the auditorium?" Quinn asked. "They've been avoiding each other."

"Mr. Schuester will be easy," Artie piped up, "He'll be glad to listen to us but its Miss P thats the problem."

"I will handle Miss Pillsbury." Rachel said. "Don't worry, I'll get her there."

* * *

The next week after the kids had practiced the song outside of school to absolute perfection they decided to put their plan into action. They agreed that after school ended Mercedes, Kurt and Finn would bring Mr. Schuester to the auditorium and Rachel would get Miss P there. They planned it so it would fall on a glee day so they didn't risk Mr. Schuester going home early.

Rachel, Quinn, Kurt and Mike, who all shared the same last period math class, stared at the clock the last five minutes of class. Within the last 30 seconds the four all looked at each other and nodded to each other. Once the bell rang, they all leaped out of their seats, Quinn and Mike running to the auditorium to set up and Kurt going to meet Finn and Mercedes and Rachel heading down the opposite way towards Miss Pillsbury's office.

Rachel was relieved to find that Miss Pillsbury was still in her office and her dentist boyfriend was no where in sight. Rachel let out a breath and knocked on the door.

Emma lifted her head and saw Rachel standing outside her office waving at her. Emma smiled back at her, thankful that it wasn't Will. She waved Rachel in and Rachel opened the door, stepping in.

"Hello Rachel." Emma greeted as warmly as she could. "Is something the matter?"

"Oh no." Rachel shook her head. "I just wanted to ask you something."

"Oh." Emma's voice squeaking in surprise as she took a seat. "What can I do for you Rachel?"

"I was just wondering if you could come down to the auditorium."

Emma's eyes widened and her breath caught in her chest. She forget how to breathe for a second as she stared at Rachel. If she went down to the auditorium than she'd run into Will. "I...I don;t know Rachel..."

Rachel stepped closer to her desk and adopted her signature puppy dog pout. "Miss Pillsbury, please? I know you stood up to Principal Figgins for us last year when he cut the club. You care about us Miss P and we care about you. You're practically our co-director and we'd love to perform for you."

Emma bit her lip, her heart pounding and her chest rising and falling sharply. She loved that the kids cared about her and she did care about them but then there was Will...Could she handle being near Will? It was just for five minutes right? She could watch the kids perform and get out before Will had a chance to talk to her. Yes, she could do that.

She nodded with a small, hesitant smile. "Okay Rachel...I'll um, I'll come."

Rachel grinned and clapped happily. "Thank you Miss P!"

"Um..yeah, no-no problem." Emma whispered. The two stared at each other for several moments until Emma asked, "Now?"

"If you wouldn't mind please." Rachel smiled.

Emma sighed and rose from her seat, she pumped a few squirts of purell onto her hands, rubbed them together and then followed Rachel out of her office, closing the door behind her.

Rachel opened the door to the auditorium, held it open for Emma and then they both walked down the aisle towards the stage. Emma's heart pounded and her stomach dropped upon seeing the back of a very familiar curly head sitting in the front row.

Will turned hearing the doors open and expected to see Rachel, since she was the only member missing from the group on the stage, but who he saw with Rachel took his breathe away.

He hadn't properly seen or talked to Emma since his confession of love last spring. He stared at her in shock as she continued to walk down the aisle, not believing she was actually there.

"Take a seat." Rachel instructed Emma and Emma took the furthest seat from Will possible in the front row. Emma quickly glanced at Will and then turned around quickly to look at the group of kids.

Emma closed her eyes for a brief second, trying to ignore that Will was only feet away from her.

"What's going on?" A voice that she hadn't heard in almost three months sent her heart into flutters.

"We have a song that we want you both to hear." Rachel explained and Emma immediately got a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach. Her eyes snapped open and she cast a glance at Will, the shocked, surprised look on his face alerted her to the fact that he was not behind it.

Before he could catch her looking at him, Emma looked forward again, letting out a quiet breath.

Without any more questioning from Will, Rachel motioned to Brad sitting at the piano. Brad nodded wordlessly back at her and started a light and peaceful melody.

Rachel sucked in a breath and stepped forward singing, _"I've been living with a shadow over head, I've been sleeping with a cloud above my bed. I've been lonely for so long. Trapped in the past I just can't seem to move on." _Rachel's eyes connected with Emma's from the audience and Emma's eyes widened slightly.

Finn stepped forward beside Rachel, staring directly at Will. _"I've been hiding all my hopes and dreams away just incase I ever need them again someday, I've been setting aside time to clear a little space in the corners of my mind." _

Finn and Rachel started to sing together with the rest of the kids singing behind them, _"All I want to do is find a way back into love. I can't make it through without a way back into love."_

Emma felt frozen to the seat, her eyes wide, not able to move.

Rachel and Finn stepped back into the group and Quinn stepped forward starting with the second verse, _"I've been watching but the stars refuse to shine. I've been searching but I just don't see the sign, I know that it's out there. There's gotta be something for my soul somewhere."_

Puck stepped forward, first locking eyes with Will, then with Emma, not knowing how his lyrics would speak directly to their hearts, _"I've been looking for someone to shed some light, not somebody just to get me through the night. I could use some direction and I'm open to your suggestions." _

Quinn and Puck looked at each other and then back to Will and Emma as they started with the chorus, _"All I want to do is find a way back into love. I can't make it through without a way back into love. And if I open my heart again I guess I'm hoping you'll be there for me in the end." _

A short instrumental break let Will and Emma ponder. At the same time they both turned to look at each other and from across the way, they locked eyes. Emma's wide eyes were panicked and scared while Will's showed all of the passion he had for her.

Faintly, in the background they could hear Tina's soft vocals, _"There are moments when I don't know if its real or if anybody feels the way I feel. I need inspiration. Not just another negotiation." _

The whole club started to sing the chorus but it was only background noise to the thumping of their hearts and their wildly spinning thoughts. _"All I want to do is find a way back into love. I can't make it through without a way back into love." _

Even though they weren't really paying attention, the lyrics broke through their barrier and spoke to them, _"And if I open my heart to you I'm hoping you'll show me what to do and if you help me to start again you know that I'll be there for you in the end." _

Will and Emma were so locked on each other that they failed to notice that the song ended and that the kids retreated off the stage and out of the auditorium, leaving their two teacher's to talk.

Emma swallowed hard, wanting to but unable to, tear her gaze away from Will. She always had been captivated by his gorgeous hazel eyes. Even when she was trying to convince herself that she wanted absolutely nothing to do with the handsome man in front of her, she still remained under his spell.

Finally, she was able to tear her gaze away from his and she stared at the ground. Will blinked, mourning the loss of Emma's eyes locked with his.

"I uh..." Will began to speak and Emma didn't dare look up at him. "I had nothing to do with that."

"I know." She whispered loud enough for him to hear her. She quickly glanced up at him and saw that he was giving her his sad eyes. The sad eyes that in the past would have her running to his side in an instant. She shook her head and stood up, planning to walk out of there without another word.

"Emma wait!" Will called out to her and Emma paused, closing her eyes tightly. She bit her lip and slowly turned around to face him. When she opened her eyes she saw Will approaching her and her breath caught in her chest. She forgot how being around him made her feel.

"Just because I didn't plan it doesn't mean the words aren't true." Will's eyes connected with hers again and Emma didn't have the strength to look away. It took all that was within her to not melt into a puddle at his feet. She had to think about Carl. Carl was her boyfriend, not Will.

"I want to find a way back into love. With you." Will continued.

Emma shook her head slowly, repeating Carl's name in her head. "No Will."

Will's face faltered slightly. "It doesn't have to be this way Emma, we can make it through Emma, me and you."

"No." Her voice shook quietly.

"Emma..."

She backed away from him. "Just stop it Will!" She screeched. "It's not fair! You can't do this to me! I have a boyfriend now, Will. That's what it is and you'll have to live with that."

"I can't deal with that." Will replied.

"Well you have to. Carl's a good man." Emma responded.

"A good man?" He stepped closer to her and she eyed him warily. "That's what you said about Ken."

Emma's eyes narrowed. "Do not compare Carl to Ken! Carl is nothing like Ken!"

"Really?" Will raised his eyebrows. "Because I think they're alot alike. You used Ken and you're using Carl to _try_ to get over me."

Emma felt anger flood her body and she stepped closer to Will. "How dare you!" She hissed. "You can't tell me how I feel about Carl! I like Carl!"

Will remained calm and nodded. "I know. I know you like Carl." Judging by the look on his face and the tone of his words she knew that he still had more to add to that. "But you love me."

Emma's jaw dropped and her eyes narrowed further. She snapped her jaw closed and glared at him darkly, raising a finger to tell him differently but no words would come out.

A smug look crossed his face. "I knew it."

She let out a breath through her teeth. "William Schuester you have some nerve."

"Tell me otherwise Emma." He held his arms out, inviting her words in. "Tell me you don't love me. Tell me you don't love me and that you're in love with Carl and I won't speak to you ever again. I'll leave you alone."

Emma curled her hands into fists at her side, her chest rising and falling sharply. She opened her mouth to do just that. "I-" She stuttered and her breath caught in her chest, not able to speak another word.

Will licked his lips, his eyebrows raising in anticipation. Emma stared at him hardly and then she shook her head, looking away from him, angry tears pricking her eyes.

"Admit it Emma." His voice softened. "Tell me you love me."

"No." She whispered, shaking her head stubbornly.

"Say it, Emma."

"No." She almost growled, still refusing to look at him.

"I know you love me just like I love you, just make it easier for both of us and tell me you love me." Will said.

Emma continued to shake her head, turning so her back was facing him.

"Admit it." Will's smooth voice prompted her once again. She clenched her jaw and started to walk away from him, glaring at the ground.

After only a few steps she whirled around frantically. "I love you! Okay, Will. Are you happy now? I love you, I love you, I love you. I don't want to love you and Lord knows how much I've tried to forget you but I can't because I do, I love you."

Will's jaw dropped in shock and then his face softened as he took the few steps closer to Emma. "Then what's the problem?"

"The problem is Will, you broke my heart. I gave you my heart which I don't give to anyone and you threw it away like it meant _nothing _to you!" Emma cried, a tear slipping over her eyelid and down cheek.

"Em, it means everything to me." His voice was soft and calmed her frantic mind.

"It doesn't seem like it." Emma whispered.

"I know. I made some really stupid mistakes. I can't make excuses for what I did because there are none. I was stupid and I hate myself for hurting you. Emma, you are the most important thing in my world. You're the light in my life and without you, I feel lost."

Emma almost succumbed to his gentle, sweet words but the thought of Shelby and April brought her back to reality. "You should have thought of that before you slept with April Rhodes." She snapped quietly. Will making out with Shelby bothered her, of course but nothing compared to the hurt she felt when she found out about April.

"Was I not good enough for you Will?" She whimpered, more tears spilling onto her cheeks. Will's eyes widened and he shook his head.

"No, no, Emma you're perfect."

Emma laughed bitterly. "Which is why you ran straight into the bed of that blonde, drunk...whore."

Will raised his eyebrows, realization setting in. "You...do...Emma, do you think I...had sex with April?"

Emma averted her gaze from Will, biting her lip, forcing back tears.

"Oh my god, Emma no. We didn't do anything like that. At all." Will was quick to reassure her.

"My source tells me that you slept with April." Emma remarked.

Will shook his head and let out a breath. "I don't know who your source is but you misunderstood. I did sleep with April but in the literal sense. It's not a euphemism for sex, we just slept."

Emma slowly looked back at Will, her eyes questioning his words. He looked deep into her eyes and showed all of the truth of what he said. "She needed a place to stay and I needed to sublet my apartment. Neither of us are used to sleeping alone so we slept in the same bed but nothing happened. Absolutely nothing. I don't see April like that anymore."

Emma let out a breath, the realization that Sue was wrong and that Will did not have sex with someone else setting in.

"Emma," he whispered and she let her eyes focus on his once again, "You are good enough, you're too good actually, I don't even deserve you and I'm so sorry if I ever let you believe that you were not good enough for me because you're perfect for me Emma. I don't care about what you think are your problems, I love every part of you. I love your mysophobia, I love your OCD, I love that you clean everything before touching it, I love that you clean your fruit before eating it, I love the way your nose scrunches up when you see something disgusting, I love the way your eyes widen when something gross touches you, I love the way you walk like you're trying to avoid the germs in the air, I love everything about you Emma Pillsbury."

Emma's tears increased in speed until they rolled down her cheeks like a waterfall, her body started shaking with quiet sobs and whimpers escaped her lips every so often. She buried her face in her hands and her body shook heavily with sobs.

Will reacted immediately and took her into his arms, wrapping his arms tightly around her, resting his head on top of hers.

Emma completely broke down once she was in his safe and warm arms. She gripped onto his shirt tightly and buried her face into his chest, her body shaking and her sobs echoing throughout the auditorium.

Will didn't say a word, figuring it'd be better to just stay silent, and continued to hold her, rubbing her back comfortingly.

The tears and the sobs continued to persist for minutes on end. She only started to calm down when her throat felt like it would close in on her, her head felt like it would implode and her eyes were so bloodshot it looked like someone had sprayed them with mace.

Her sobbing and tears stopped but she still let out the occasional shuddering breath. She moved her head so she was now resting it sideway on Will's shoulder but still held onto his tear stained shirt.

Every once in a while she'd feel his lips against the top of her head and she'd calm down a little bit more. Her breathing slowly returned back to normal and she closed her eyes, feeling sleepy and cuddling more into Will's body.

Emma knew Will wanted to talk to her but she was so grateful that he remained wordless. He always knew exactly what to do to calm her down. Carl didn't know how to do that.

Being in Will's arms, she knew that he was right. She liked Carl, she cared about him a lot in fact. But he wasn't Will, no one could ever be Will and she was fooling herself to think that anyone could replace the spot he had in her heart.

She lifted her head and locked eyes with Will. Will's eyebrows creased in concern and he didn't have to say anything for her to know that he was asking her if she was alright.

Emma gave him a small smile and nodded. Will smiled back and wiped her drying tears away from her cheeks. Emma's eyes fluttered closed and she leaned her head into his touch. She forgot how wonderful it felt to be touched by Will.

The next thing she knew, Will's lips were on hers. It was different than all the other kisses they shared. The other kisses were needing, this one was soft and innocent, just to show how much he really cared about her.

It was very brief, lasting only a few seconds and Emma felt herself craving for more. She licked her lips and opened her eyes, meeting his.

"Can we Emma?" He asked and her brow furrowed in confusion.

"Can we find a way back into love?"

Emma stared at him for a few seconds and then a warm, true smile spread across her face. "Absolutely."

* * *

_**A/N: If you haven't heard 'Way Back Into Love' its a beautiful song and you should look it up. It's from the movie 'Music & Lyrics' and sung by Hugh Grant and Haley Bennett.**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**A/N: I wrote this chapter because I had this follow up in my head for a long time. I'm not sure about it but I hope you like it!

* * *

**_

"Hello fellow glee clubbers." Rachel strutted into the choir room, shutting the door behind her and pausing in front of the classroom.

The rest of the glee club stopped their chatter and turned towards Rachel. Normally they, except for Finn, would ignore her demands to catch their attention but they all knew what she was trying to catch their attention about this time.

"I paid a freshman to ask Mr. Schuester about irregular verbs so he'll be a little late." The diva explained.

"What do you think happened?" Mercedes asked eagerly.

"They probably did it." Santana remarked with a smirk. Brittany and Puck smirked while the rest rolled their eyes.

"Somehow I don't think Miss Pillsbury is the type." Kurt responded, crossing his legs and Mercedes and Tina nodded in agreement.

"Yeah but have you seen Mr. Schue?" Santana lifted an eyebrow and barked a small laugh. "I wouldn't blame her."

"I would do it." Brittany nodded. All eleven pairs of eyes turned to her with questioning and disgusted looks.

"What?" She questioned cluelessly. Mike, Matt and Puck all chuckled while the girls plus Kurt shook their heads.

Rachel cleared her throat catching their attention. "Kurt is right. Miss P wouldn't do anything so salacious. Especially in public."

"So what do you think did happen?" Artie asked.

Rachel smiled at him. "I think something good happened. Mr. Schue wasn't mopey at all in spanish class today. He was smiling and his face was brighter. I think our plan worked and we should all give ourselves a round of applause." She started clapping and Finn, being a good boyfriend, started to clap along with her while the others just stared at them.

"We don't know anything for sure." Quinn said. "He might be putting on a show."

Rachel shook her head. "I don't think so Quinn. He hasn't been putting on a show for the last month why would he start now?"

"Cuz he didn't want us to know we screwed his love life over." Puck remarked.

A gasp escaped Tina's lips and she gripped onto Artie's hand tighter. "What if we did?" She shared a nervous glance with Mercedes. "Seriously guys? What if we made it worse?"

"Mr. Schue is gonna hate us." Artie replied in a quiet voice.

"He wouldn't hate us." Finn reassured them but his face quickly became unsure. "I don't think..."

"Maybe we shouldn't have done this." Mike said looking at the group.

Quinn frowned heavily. "I would hate to ruin another one of his relationships."

Mercedes smiled sadly at her and gave her newly found best friend a hand squeeze.

Rachel followed their conversation and shook her head wildly placing out her hands. "Hold it, hold it. You guys are freaking out over nothing. Mr. Schuester is happy, okay? We did nothing wrong."

"Unless he's just pretending." Tina piped up.

"If we screwed up then we would know it." Rachel said surely. "Mr. Schuester would not be able to pretend he was happy. He'd be even more miserable than before."

The group murmured in agreement and Rachel was about to speak again when they heard the sound of the doorknob turning. Through the window they could see Will's frame and Rachel quickly jumped into a seat beside Finn.

They all watched quietly and seemingly innocent as Will walked into the room, heading straight over to the piano. "Hey guys." He greeted warmly and flashed them a smile. "I've got some new ideas that we could try to work out for Sectionals." He placed his bag down next to the piano and started rifting through the pile of sheet music on top of the shiny black instrument.

The glee club all exchanged looks and started whispering amongst themselves.

"I told you he was happy." Rachel whispered behind her.

"He hasn't been like this since before Regionals." Mercedes whispered in agreement.

"Maybe it did work." Tina beamed.

"I told you suckers that it would." Puck remarked and they all shot him a look. He only smirked and shrugged in response.

"Oh sure Puckerman, who was the one who said we screwed up his relationship?" Rachel countered.

"Mercedes." Puck answered surely, pointing to said glee mate.

Mercedes raised her eyebrows. "Excuse me? Oh you did not just go there white boy."

Before Puck could open his mouth to say something Artie jumped in, "As I recall we all were having doubts."

Mercedes and Puck both rolled their eyes and turned away from each other.

"Uh guys..." Finn whispered tilting his head backwards. "He's staring at us.."

The group turned their heads forward to see Will perched near the piano, raising an eyebrow at them.

An innocent, wide smile spread across each of their faces as they stared at their teacher.

Will lifted his other eyebrow and shook his head slowly, shuffling the papers in his hands. "I know what you guys are talking about."

Eleven bodies froze; Brittany sat there cluelessly.

He set the papers down on the piano and turned to them fully. "And I know what you guys did."

They all cast nervous looks at each other Quinn, Rachel and Tina each holding onto their respective boyfriends hands.

Will clasped his hands together and approached them slowly. "I have something to say to all of you."

He paused in front of them and scanned the room, making sure to lock eyes with each and every one of them. The teenagers squirmed in their seats, some of them bowing their heads.

Will's face softened and he smiled. "Thank you."

Heads whipped up and faces fell in shock. Will let out a breath and his smile brightened. "I don't know why you guys did it but thank you so much."

Smiles filled the room and subtle high fives were thrown.

Will laughed at their actions. "I never would have been able to do it on my own and it would have taken months before I got anywhere with her."

"We could see that you were miserable Mr. Schue." Finn piped up and slung his arm around Rachel. "It was Rachel's idea."

Rachel beamed proudly. "It was completely obvious that you love her Mr. Schue." Rachel stated and Will flushed slightly and Rachel giggled.

"And completely obvious that she loves you too." Quinn stated with a smile. Will's face brightened at her words, his obvious excitement causing the girls of the room to giggle.

"So are you two back together?" Tina asked hopefully.

"Um...not exactly." Will responded.

Their faces fell and they exchanged looks.

"Wait hold up. I thought it went well." Mercedes commented.

Will shook his head feverishly quick to reassure them. "Oh it did. It went very well. We just...we rushed into things last time and thats what caused us to fall apart. We don't want to make that mistake again so we're taking it a lot slower." He suddenly furrowed his brow and shook his head. "I don't know why I'm even telling you guys this."

They all grinned and laughed. "Oh come on Mr. Schue." Artie laughed. "If it wasn't for us you wouldn't even be where you are now."

"Yeah," Finn shrugged with a smile, "Besides, you're more than just our teacher. We're family here...right?"

Will smiled and let out a small laugh. "Yeah...but don't think that talking about my love life is going to be a regular thing in this choir room. We're here to sing not gossip."

"But you and Miss P are so cute!" Tina gushed and the others nodded in agreement.

Will's cheeks flushed and he cleared his throat and Puck, Mike, Matt and Finn smirked at their teacher's obvious embarrassment.

"Seriously," Rachel added with a smile, "You're even cuter than Finn and I and that's tough for me to admit but its entirely true."

Several group members rolled their eyes while Finn gave her shoulder a squeeze and turned to her with a small smile. She shrugged and cuddled further into him.

Will let out a breathy laugh. "Thanks guys."

"We're just glad to see you happy again Mr. Schue." Quinn said.

Will was more than happy. Not only had he gotten Emma back but his kids had cared enough about him to help him win Emma back.

He smiled at the twelve glee kids in gratitude and then clapped his hands together. "Alright, so lets get started."

* * *

After glee Will made his way down to Emma's office. He felt relief flood through him as he made the familiar trek. The last few months that he passed her office there was nothing but tension and it was awkward and uncomfortable. That's not what he liked to feel around Emma.

Now that they had made up, Will felt a weight lift off his shoulders that he could go to Emma's office and not be met with awkwardness. It would just be like old times except they'd be able to act on feelings they never were able to before.

He didn't see her at lunch or all day for that matter to give her space. After they decided to try again, Emma realized that she was still dating Carl which brought another round of tears. Emma expressed concern about having to break up with Carl because he really was a good man and she did not want to break his heart.

But she did it, she sent him a text message later that night to say that she did. He saw her briefly in the morning and noticed she looked a little down. He decided to leave her alone until the end of the day so she could compose herself.

He finally reached her office and paused outside to watch her for a few moments. She was rearranging things on her desk, her tongue poking out the side of her mouth in intense concentration. His heart fluttered at the sight. Who ever said that Emma's quirks were anything but adorable should be locked up.

Emma opened her desk drawer and pulled out some wipes and started to wipe down the desk. He sighed quietly and knew that he could watch her for hours.

How could he have ever been so stupid to let her go? And how did he get so lucky to get a second chance? He would never, ever let her go again.

Will knocked lightly on the glass and Emma jumped, lifting her head in alarm. Her face relaxed and she smiled slightly waving for him to come in.

He grinned and pushed the door open, closing it behind him as he walked in. "Hey."

"Hi." She greeted warmly, discarding of her wipes. "I um..I didn't see you all day. Is everything okay?"

Will took his usual seat and nodded shooting her a smile. "Yes I just wanted to give you some space."

Her brow furrowed, "Space?"

He licked his lips and nodded. "Uh, yeah you know because of uh..Carl."

Emma's face fell and her eyes cast downward at her fidgeting hands in her lap. "Oh."

Will let out a breath and shifted in his seat. "So..um...how'd it go?"

Emma lifted her eyes to look at him and she bit her lip softly. She lifted one hand to play with something on her desk. "Oh, it went alright, I suppose. I mean he took it very well, he's very gentlemanly. It will be a little awkward at our appointments but um... he understood." She blushed as she avoided his gaze. "He said he always felt that my heart wasn't completely with him." She cleared her throat and braved a glance up at him and met his beaming face. "He was right Will. My heart has always been yours and it always will be."

A breathtaking grin spread across Will's face. "Just like mine will always be yours Em."

Emma blushed heavily and her eyes twinkled in delight.

They sat in a comfortable silence for a few moments just staring at each other. They were both perfectly content to stay that way. They always had a way to speak to each other using their eyes. All last year when neither of them could admit the feelings they had for the other, one look would say all that could never be spoken aloud.

Will finally decided to break the silence and he cleared his throat. "So, uh, I talked to the glee kids and they admitted that they set us up."

Emma smiled and chuckled. "I had a feeling."

"They think we're 'cute'." Will chuckled and Emma's eyebrows rose.

"Cute?"

"A cute couple." He elaborated and she blushed further. His eyebrows furrowed flirtatiously and he leaned forward. "I have to agree with them."

Emma bit her lip as she tried to suppress a giggle. "Will..."

"I know." He sat back with a small smile. "I know we agreed to be just friends for now. I understand Emma. I'd patiently wait for as long as you need me to now that I know that one day we'll be together."

Emma stared at him for a moment, a small smile tugging at her lips but then her eyes teared up and she looked away from him, covering her mouth with her hand.

Will's smile fell in an instant and he rose from his seat, rushing to her side. "Hey, Em, what's the matter? Did I say something wrong? I'm sorry."

Emma shook her head and laughed quietly. "No, gosh no Will, you said nothing wrong." She sniffled and lifted her head meeting his eyes. "I just don't understand."

Will's brow furrowed in confusion and he placed a hand lightly on her shoulder. "Don't understand what?"

"You." She whispered and he blinked in confusion. Then he frowned and his eyes fell to the ground, his hand starting to slip away from her shoulder, his shame and embarrassment written on his face.

"No!" She cried and placed her hand over his to keep it rested on her shoulder and he glanced up at her, confused. "No, no I mean. I don't understand why you would go through all of this trouble for me."

He locked eyes with her and answered seriously, "I'd go through hell and back for you Em."

Emma swallowed the lump in her throat and more tears pricked her eyes. "Why?" She chocked out the word.

"Why?" He repeated shaking his head. "Because I love you Emma." He lifted one hand to the side of her face wiping a tear that had fallen. She said nothing but a small whimper escaped her lips and a few more tears rolled down her cheeks.

"Oh Em.." He whispered wiping them away. "Why are you crying?"

She whimpered again and shook her head slowly. "No one has ever loved me the way you do." She sniffled quietly and continued, "There was Ken who claimed to love me but he never understood me, he'd always roll his eyes whenever I cleaned something or get frustrated whenever I wouldn't let him touch me. He said he'd "put up" with all my crazy. Carl-Carl was better, you know, he um, he understood that I liked to be clean and he never seemed to be put off by my cleaning habits but he still seemed a little frustrated when I wouldn't touch him. He was easier, a lot easier than Ken, I could hug him without wanting to take a shower. I could kiss him pretty easily too I..." She paused for a second noting the pain that flashed through Will's eyes. She stumbled a bit on her words and then continued, "...anyway, but I could always tell he wanted more and I...just wasn't ready to give it to him." She licked her lips and sighed heavily. "Now that I know the truth about April I..realize that you weren't just another typical male who only wanted sex from me." She offered him a small smile and without hesitance reached up to place her hand on the side of his face. "You're Will. I know that doesn't mean much to you but to me it means a lot. I put you up on a pedestal Will and when you did what you did it hurt because it made me realize that you weren't as perfect as I thought you were. Now I realize that you are as perfect as I thought you were."

Will's face dropped. "Emma..." He whispered and shook his head. "I'm not. I'm not perfect...at all. I have a lot of flaws which almost cost me you."

She lifted her finger to his lips and shook her head. "No, I know that. I know you have flaws. My still vulnerable heart proves that but...they don't matter because you're Will. You're gentle and kind and unbelievably patient." Her eyes twinkled with unshed tears. "And you're willing to fight for me. Ken dumped me, Carl gave in without an argument but you were never going to give up. Even though I told you I didn't see you in that way anymore, even though I told you I was dating Carl, you still persisted. I never had anyone love me that much and its just so overwhelming and so...amazing and so frightening." She moved her hand back to his face and stared lovingly into his eyes. "I've also never loved anyone as much as I love you."

The pair stared at each other for a few seconds before Will swooped down and captured her lips with his. Will's surprise kisses were becoming not so surprising and the more times it happened the less time she needed to process it.

Despite her previous claims that she wanted to remain 'just friends' with Will for the time being, she began to kiss him back. There was something about him that always swept her in.

Which is what caused them to break up in the first place. She made a small noise of protest against his lips and resting her hand on his shoulders, pushed herself away from the kiss. A cloud of confusion passed his eyes as they blinked open to look at her.

"Will, there is nothing more I would like than to continue this, really but...we rushed into something too soon last time and look at the mess it caused."

Will visibly deflated and he stood up, sighing quietly. "You're right."

She stared up at him, a half serious smile on her face. "Will we've got to be strong this time. We both know that we want to be together but...I need time and so do you.."

Will shook his head. "I'm over Terri, Emma. It's been months since the divorce."

Emma sighed. "Maybe that's true but we need to be sure and we need to be sure that something like, uhm, Shelby won't happen again."

"It won't." Will immediately responded. "I knew that it wouldn't as soon as it happened. I made that mistake once, I'll never do it again."

Emma shifted in her seat, uncomfortable with the present conversation and quickly changed it, "And..I just broke up with Carl. I can't jump into a new relationship now, it wouldn't be right. I'm not ready Will."

Will nodded slowly, a sad smile creeping onto his lips. "I understand Em. Like I said earlier, I'd wait for as long as you need me to. We'll go back to how we were this time last year. Best friends with not so secret feelings for one another." He winked at her and she tried to hide a smirk. "Only this time, when you're ready, we can act on our feelings with no fear of my wife or your fiance getting in the way."

Emma smiled brightly and sighed contentedly. "That sounds wonderful."

He grinned down at her. "Before we officially begin to be just be friends, I want to say something, just for the record."

Emma cocked an eyebrow at him awaiting his words. He leaned over and pressed a light kiss to her forehead, whispering three words as he pulled away, "I love you."

Emma felt her heart skip a beat. This time last year she had just found out Will's wife was pregnant, this time last year she spent almost every night crying herself to sleep dreaming for him to say those words to her. It was amazing how much could happen in just a year. She'd went from pining after Will to dating Will to not wanting anything to do with Will to secretly pining after him once again while trying to convince herself to move on.

Part of her wanted to leap into a relationship with Will right away because she feared he'd disappear if she waited too long. But, she knew it wasn't right, they both needed time. Will's promise to wait for her for as long as she needed was all that she needed.

She wanted to be with Will but their friendship had been distorted and they needed to rebuild that before they started anything else.

Staring into Will's hazel eyes she knew that soon enough they'd find their way back into love.


End file.
